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hey so i want to get into rally and im wondering what is a good car to get started wit? i have a wrx but people say that it is too powerful for a first time car. i heard that its good to start with a front wheel drive car. so what is a good cheap car?
What might be a good idea, is to look at the official entry list for some SCCA ProRally and ClubRally events. If you look at enough, you will see what kind of cars other people drive besides WRXs and Evos.
yeah
the 323 GTX is a good starter car
so would a justy or an older golf
89-92 civics seem to work pretty well too (and parts are pretty easy to come by)
i deffinately wouldnt start with a wrx though, thats for sure, seen/heard of way too many written off by people just getting into the sport.
i started with my 92 legacy, and it has been great to me
you can start with 2wd, but i love the awd (thats why i have a subaru )
Originally posted by oursTOdestroy
i deffinately wouldnt start with a wrx though, thats for sure, seen/heard of way too many written off by people just getting into the sport.
Agreed. You are likely to damage your car when you first start out, and you don't really want a car that is expensive to maintain as your learning car.
You also want a car that you can afford to sacrifice (as in a 100% loss of the car). Many of my friends in amateur racing (some of whom are now semi-pro) lost at least three cars along the way.
Racing is by far the most expensive sport in the world in terms of up-front dollars you must spend in order to field a competitive car.
It is always, absolutely positively, 100% of the time better to start with a used, ready-to-run rally car than to build your own. Functional rally cars can be had for as little as $5k, and soemtiems they come with spare parts, a trailer, extra wheels/tires... you can never build your own rally car from scratch for less than what a used car will cost you. Ask around and every seasoned rallier will tell you the same thing. But since you probably don't care (like me- if I ever have a chance to get into rally, I'll probably build my first car too) then read the SportCompactCar rally beater articles. tons of good info in there.
BTW, here's a short list of the rally cars that friends of mine run in SCCA amateur class:
1987 Dodge Omni
1997 Jetta
1998 Ford Festiva (NOT KIDDING) with a Toyota MR2 engine in it
1988 Audi Quattro
So as you can see, you can make almost any car into a competitive rally car in the amateur class. Building one that will compete at any class above that, however, will cost you $50k a year or more.
Used/pre-built A2 Golf GTi would probably be the best car to start with. It's got low power to learn how to control the car and drive smooth. Parts are cheap and easy to get if you need spares...especially @ rallies.
Built right they're tanks.
They're pretty much the spec class car in SCCA Club Rally.
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